For you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:26-28)
Now if we are children, then we
are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his
sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:17)
Identity Politics is a political philosophy in which groups of people having a particular
racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their
own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns
of any larger political group.[1]
It took its modern form during the last half of the last century, and developed
a large following, particularly during the past twenty years.
What it says is that being a
woman puts one in opposition against men, being a person of color puts one in
opposition against whites, and being poor puts you in opposition to the rich. You
must be something, and whatever you are means that those who aren’t that are
your enemies. Not surprisingly, the same people who hold to Identity Politics
are now screaming that we are divided and must become united. While tearing us
apart, they scream that we adhere and that we adhere under their terms. Anyone
who refuses is seen as mad, sad, or bad.
When the Civil Rights movement
started, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of people being judged by their
character, not by the color of their skin. Now, we are required to judge people
by the color of their skin, by their gender, by their socio-economic status,
and by their heritage or culture with the goal to specifically reverse what it
is claimed was the hierarchy in the past. This reversal is to be imposed on
society. In other words, there is a new set of “Thou shalts” and “Thou shalt
nots” that are proclaimed as the Law.
But Scripture points out in Romans
that the Law (whether the Mosaic Law or any other) does not save. It does not
prevent sin. In fact, it makes sin worse. Today’s passage proposes a movement
away from man-made Laws about groups and classes, and calls for an internal
change that leads to a unity that is superior to that which is demanded by
Identity Politics because it rejects the divisions created by Identity
Politics.
You are not judged by your race,
your gender, your socio-economic status. You are judged only by whether you are alive in Christ, or dead in sin. Not only are we all of one sort of people, but we are all sons and co-heirs and should think of ourselves as nothing less.
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